Sudbury native helps Iraq get on its feet

Thursday

Mar 26, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 26, 2009 at 1:08 PM

Despite living and working under tight security in a small four-block compound in northern Iraq, public diplomacy officer and Sudbury native Suzanne Bodoin has enjoyed her work, helping to make Iraq independent.

Kathy Uek

Despite living and working under tight security in a small four-block compound in northern Iraq, public diplomacy officer Suzanne Bodoin has enjoyed her work -- helping make Iraq independent.

It’s been an experience of a lifetime, the Sudbury native said while at home recently visiting her parents.

"As a state department diplomat, you never expect to be in war zone," said Bodoin. "But there’s a sense of really getting something done that makes a huge difference."

That difference includes helping Iraq establish cultural and educational exchanges with universities, including the University of Massachusetts.

With funding from the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government, the program is part of a U.S. Department of State effort called Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs).

Bodoin and public diplomacy officer Jim Heller of Michigan work with universities in the Kurdistan region, made up of the provinces of Dohuk and Sulimainiyah and Erbil.

When University of Massachusetts professor Michael Hannahan visited the region, as the votes rolled in this country Nov. 4, 2008, he spoke about the presidential election, and the analysis of the vote.

"They are very enthusiastic about President Obama, but at the same time people in Kurdistan have a real respect for George W. Bush," she said. "They look at him as a liberator. Saddam (Hussein) conducted an almost genocidal campaign against the Kurds."

The Kurds, which make up about 17 percent of the population, identify with Obama.

"To see a minority in the United States become president, that’s a real interesting development," said Bodoin. "At the same time, they are weary when troops leave. They are afraid it will make the region more vulnerable and destabilize Iraq as a whole."

Erbil is the only region allowing faculty to visit.

"They only come for three weeks to one month," she said. "We hope in future, it will be longer."

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University also sent one full professor and two doctors of philosophy earlier this year and plan to send two more in April.

Bodoin, a Tufts alumna, earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Russian Language and Literature in 1995. She also received a master’s in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University in 1997, a master’s in Information Management from Arizona State University in 2001, and an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management in 2002.

A University of Kansas professor lectured in Iraq and conducted seminars with the ministry of higher education. Currently the Iraq minister of high education is in the U.S., meeting university officials to facilitate linkages between the Kurdistan region and the West.

Faculty at the universities help them develop curriculum.

"Their curriculum is outdated," said Bodoin. "They were cut off from the world for decades. They are now trying to meet the current educational international level so they can compete and interact on an equal level with the U.S. and Europe."

Earlier this year in a diplomatic program with the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad and PRTs throughout Iraq, seven university professors went to colleges in the U.S, including Texas A&M and Ohio State.

The United States and the Iraqi government have also set up an American-style government in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq.

"There are similar American-style universities in Cairo and Beirut," she said.

With enrollment at about 200 at the university and English language instruction, students are learning and thriving, said the diplomat.

Officials expect enrollment to increase, once they move into a new facility currently under construction.

The best part of Bodoin’s work is helping the Iraqis succeed.

"It helps them become more independent and raises the level of their society -- something closer to Europe and the U.S.," she said.

But Bodoin does admit being away from family, friends and her two cats, Kiki and Pangie, and living in a small compound, can be difficult at times.

"I get cabin fever after awhile," she said. "It’s still Iraq, you just can’t go everywhere. Over time things will continue to improve. We are doing as much as we can to help them become independent."

Bodoin joined the Foreign Service in 2002, and served as a general services and public affairs officer in Astana, Kazakhstan and a political and consular officer in Moscow.

Attracted by the opportunity to serve the U.S., she chose foreign service.

"This wasn’t that long after 911 (when I went in)," she said. "It gives me an opportunity to interact with other cultures and live in different countries."

After leaving Iraq in November, Bodoin plans to prepare for her next assignment in Jerusalem in early 2011, by studying Arabic.

Before entering the Foreign Service, Bodoin worked in Moscow editing English translations of Russian science journals.

Communities

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Swampscott Reporter ~ 40 South St., Suite 102, Marblehead, MA 01945 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service